Never say never.
You hear that mantra all too often in wrestling. For better or worse, those three words give hope to fans hoping for things that in any other walk of life would be impossible. Unfortunately, the wrestling business also takes life as quickly as it makes stars, and today we lost one of the biggest of all time.
I woke up this morning to a familiar sound, my text mesage tone. To be honest, I really should change it, but its sound has created a Pavlovian response from me, and I quickly picked up my phone to check it out. There, on my screen, were three words that changed the course of my entire day:
Randy Savage died.
At first, I didn't want to believe it. Who would? I had to get confirmation, so I frantically searched the internet for every article and tweet I could find. The more I read, the more I realized that it was indeed true. Randy Savage, the Macho Man, was gone.
Savage, real name Randal Poffo, was involved in a 1 car accident in Seminole, Florida this morning. It has been reported that he veered off the road through a median and crashed into a tree on the side of the road. His new wife, Lynn, was also in the car but only suffered minor injuries.
Later on, word came out that Savage had actually suffered a heart attack while driving, leading to the accident. Speculation has already began as to whether drugs or alcohol were involved. As of this writing, there is no evidence to support that theory.
It was an unfortunate end for the popular superstar, but an end he found quite peacefully. Unlike many others who struggled to keep their names relevant enough to make a few bucks on the independent circuit, Savage quietly stepped away from the wrestling business in 1999, with only a cup of coffee in TNA on his resume since then. He was one of the few to truly walk away and never return, though many fans always hoped for that to change.
With the rising popularity of the WWE Hall of Fame inductions, fans began to hold out hope that whatever grudge Vince McMahon had with Randy Savage would be put aside so the Macho Man could come full circle and take his rightful place amongst the rest of the wrestling legends. Mostly, we all just wanted to see him cut one more promo, even if it was to be in a tuxedo with white hair.
Earlier this year, WWE fans were treated to the return of The Rock after a 7 year absence. At the time, I commented that the only man who could have equaled the pop that Rock got due to his time away was Randy Savage, and I had hoped that the doors were beginning to open for that possibility. After all, the latest WWE video game included his likeness and the WWE produced a DVD with his best matches of all time last year. The last step seemed to be a full reunion, complete with Hall of Fame induction, to the WWE. Now, that last step can never be taken.
When someone is taken from this world, we must remember with fondness their best times. It's easy to reminisce about the Macho Man, because anyone who has ever followed wrestling knows about him. Heck, anyone who has ever watched wrestling or seen a Slim Jim commercial has done a Macho Man impression at some point in their life! This guy transcended the game and was easily the second most popular wrestler of the 80s behind Hulk Hogan. For those of us who grew up in the late 80's and early 90's, it was hard not to like Savage, with his unique brand of interviews, crazy costumes and insane charisma. Yes, the Macho Man had it all and became a legend.
While all of his comrades fell though, Savage sat silent, away from the madness that defined him for so long. He found peace after wrestling with a new wife and a new life. Still, wrestling fans wanted one final curtain call and it felt like after years of waiting, that moment would finally come. Now, it's too late.
Still, this is not the fateful end to a fall from grace. This is the end of a life of madness that found serenity. Unfortunately, the madness, and likely the extracurricular activities that went along with that, brought an early end to the life of Randal "Macho Man Randy Savage" Poffo. At 58, we say goodbye to one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. There will never be another Randy Savage, and I'm proud to aay that I grew up watching him.
Ooohhh yeaaahhhhhhh. Dig it!
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